The rest of the evening passed pretty much uneventful.

Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if it went a little slower.

I knew when we were climbing the stairs, and Rose hadn't spoken a word to me that I wasn't exactly in her good books. It crossed my mind that maybe I should have consulted with her before agreeing that the two of us would go and fight this 'Blood King.'

"You know Yeva didn't specifically say you had to be the one to kill this Blood King guy," she said once the bedroom door was shut. She crossed her arms to look more menacing, which she did – to most people. "Viktoria – and everyone else – jumped to that conclusion."

"I know," I agreed with her whilst trying to fight my exhaustion. It had been a long and eventful day. "But someone has to kill him," I tried to tell her my points. "Even if these humans are bringing it on themselves, the threat still needs to be removed. My mother's right that dhampirs around here are mostly focused on defence. You and I are the only ones who've gone through an entire guardian's training. And Mark."

She nodded, seemingly understanding my point. "That's why you said he could come." She stated. "I figured it was just because he was the first to ask and not one of those other wannabes trying to get in on your awesomeness."

I grinned in amusement at her choice of words and sat down on the edge of the bed. "These people can fight. They'd fight to the death if their homes were attacked. But to go into battle? Mark's the only one of them I'd take. And he's still no match for you."

"Well," she said and plonked herself down beside me. "That's the smartest thing I've heard all night."

We were smiling at each other when some realisation must have occurred to her. Her face lit with what I could only explain as excitement.

"Mark can sense Strigoi too," she stated. I realised there was yet another good point to having Mark come along with us. No longer being shadow-kissed, Rose no longer had the luxury of sensing when Strigoi were nearby. Mark however, did.

"Huh," Rose said, biting her lip. "I guess this might be crazy enough to work."

I leaned over and kissed her head, smelling her sweet hair in the process. "Admit it," I said to her. "You don't mind going after this Strigoi. It's the right thing to do. Even if they're walking into it, innocents are still dying because of him."

"Yeah, yeah, it's the right thing. I would've volunteered myself eventually." She admitted and sighed. "I just hate giving Yeva one more reason to think she controls the fate of the universe."

I laughed. Rose was a force to be reckoned with…but Yeva. With Yeva, there wasn't even a point in trying.

"If you plan on being a part of this family, then you'd better get used to it."

I almost started laughing again looking at the pouty expression on her face. Instead, I pulled her close to my side and kissed her forehead once again.